Software License Compliance
Helping Reconcile Licenses and Installed Software
Being unaware of what software is installed and being used within your organization can result in multiple layers of exposure, both fiscally and from the standpoint of overall network security and control. Understanding the correlation between license agreements and installed software is critical, as is the knowledge of unauthorized programs, including games and peer-to-peer programs, which can wreak havoc across an entire network. Manually completing internal software audits for compliance is difficult and time-consuming for a variety of reasons, including lax or changing vendor policies that can be confusing and complex, a disconnect between procurement and the IT department that leads to inappropriate use, or the presence of unauthorized software.
Vendor software audits can be costly in time and resource, and software misuse can result in litigation and substantial fines for copyright infringement. License compliance can just as easily save money, with the reallocation of unused software or the renegotiation of contracts. Knowledge of what software is installed and who is using it also helps to address software lifecycle management and migration issues, more effectively perform patch management for maximum security, as well as address the need for proof of compliance through comprehensive reporting.
The Solution
Dell KACE K1000 Management Appliances are designed to save you time and your company money by easily and comprehensively providing software asset inventory and utilization information that helps ensure license compliance and helps minimizes negative exposure and expense. The K1000 can help eliminate the labor-intensive manual tasks previously required to maintain and validate software license compliance.
- Software inventory includes auto-discovery of software across the network, providing a comprehensive and real-time view of installed applications helping ensure that organizations have visibility into which applications are installed on which systems.
- Asset management allows the assignment and reconciliation of software licenses against auto-discovered software helping ensure that organizations stay within the terms of their license agreements and can more easily track unauthorized software installations.
- Software distribution helps provide for centralized deployment or removal of applications, making it easier for organizations to stay within the terms of their licensing agreements with a minimum of time and effort.
- Software metering provides detailed usage information that helps enable effective license harvesting and reallocation or retirement of unused licenses.
- Reporting and dashboards provide comprehensive capabilities that help identify and address potential problems, and assist to provide proof of license compliance in the event of a software audit.
- KACE Virtual Kontainers provide application virtualization for key applications, including active metering to enable complete control of where and when a key application may be executed based on location, hours used, and even on the number of available licenses.
- Organizational management provides central administrators access to aggregate reports of software titles, software compliance and software not used across Organizations configured on the K1000, allowing them to more easily complete compliance and license harvesting activities.